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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: file · safe · kid · chair · stem · season · wind · ruler

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. chair — a leader
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. file — a document
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. kid — to tease
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. season — of the year
  15. file — a line of people
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. file — a tool
  18. wind — moving air
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. kid — child
  23. wind — moving air
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com